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|Forecast payments to
|farmers in 1992-93
|(£ million)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hill livestock compensatory allowances |34.0
Pilot extensification scheme |0.4
Set-Aside |25.8
Data Protection Act 1984
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many certificates have been signed under the terms of section 27 of the Data Protection Act 1984 for each year since 1987.
Oil Dispersants
Mr. Norman Hogg : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food why oil dispersants are not tested on marine animal and plant life present in surface waters.
Mr. Curry : Oil dispersants are tested using the brown shrimp Crangon crangon, for the sea test, and the common limpet Patella vulgata, for the rocky shore test. These marine animal species are considered to be suitably representative of marine life for the tests, which are intended to assess the toxicity of a dispersant, or a dispersant mixed with oil, in comparison with the toxicity of oil alone. However, I would refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Taunton (Mr.Nicholson) on 1 April at column 329 which announced a review of the current arrangements for the testing and approval of oil dispersants.
Departmental Forms
Mr. Mike O'Brien : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on his plans for reducing the number of forms which have to be filled in by farmers produced by his Department.
Mr. Curry : A baseline list of forms associated with Ministry regulations which impose a burden on industry has been established. Forms listed in the baseline are subject to review under Ministry deregulation plans. The aim is to identify those which might be simplified or abolished in order to reduce the burden that can be imposed on industry.
Mr. Mike O'Brien : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many forms he produced to be filled in by farmers for any purpose including making claims for quotas and grants in (a) 1979, (b) 1985 and (c) 1993.
Mr. Curry : The number of forms filled in specifically by farmers in 1993 is not available. Nor is this information available on a historical basis. However, the total number of forms associated with Ministry regulations which impose a burden on industry which the agriculture and food sectors taken as a whole are currently asked to complete is just under 450.
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DEFENCE
Atomic Weapons Establishments
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the report, "Brown and Root : The Track Record", a copy of which has been sent to him, in regard to the contractorisation of the atomic weapons establishments from 1 April.
Mr. Aitken : The report refers to Brown and Root Inc, which is a United States-managed and operated company. Its allegations do not relate to Brown and Root Ltd., which is a member of the Hunting-BRAE consortium selected to operate AWE. Brown and Root Ltd. is the lead partner in the consortium running Devonport dockyard, where their nuclear safety record has been first class. In selecting Hunting-BRAE Ltd. as the contractor to operate AWE, careful account was taken of the corporate experience of all members of the consortium including their commitment to safety.
Nuclear Tests
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Barrow and Furness (Mr. Hutton) of 19 March, Official Report , column 391 , if he will make it his practice to itemise the costs levied on each nuclear test conducted by the United Kingdom in Nevada to cover the management and disposal of radioactive wastes associated with each respective test.
Mr. Aitken : I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on the 29 March 1993, Official Report , column 16 .
Nuclear Submarines
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what arrangements he has made for the establishment of Z-berths for nuclear- powered submarines operating in the Persian gulf.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : None. The term "Z-berth" applies only to locations within the United Kingdom or United Kingdom dependent territories.
Surplus Departmental Properties
Mr. Battle : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many properties are currently surplus to the long-term requirements of his Department ; and if he will list the number of such properties at each of his Department's sites.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : My noble Friend the Under-Secretary of State for Defence will write to the hon. Member.
Departmental Properties
Mr. Battle : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many of his Department's properties were purchased by (a) housing associations, (b) private developers, (c) under do-it-yourself shared ownership schemes, and (d) under shared-ownership schemes in each of the last three years.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : The information requested is as follows :
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|Number
---------------------------------------
(a) housing associations
1990-91 |96
1991-92 |221
1992-93 |299
(b) private developers
1990-91 |875
1991-92 |392
1992-93 |110
As far as my Department is aware no properties have been purchased directly from the MoD under the DIYSO or shared-ownership schemes. These schemes are run by the Housing Corporation and housing associations. Some of the properties purchased by housing associations or private developers may subsequently have been resold under such schemes.
Helicopter Carrier
Mr. Jopling : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence for what reasons a limit of three weeks has been set for the contenders to modify their bids for the helicopter carrier ; whether he will allow extra time, if this proves to be insufficient time to make the necessary adjustments ; and if he will make it his policy to assess the rival bids purely on merits and price.
Mr. Aitken : In response to requests from the tenderers, additional time has been allowed for them to respond to the invitation to clarify their bids. We will hold a full and fair competition for the contract using our normal technical and value for money criteria.
Journalists (Transport and Accommodation)
Dr. David Clark : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is his policy relating to (a) the provision of funding for the transport of journalists, and (b) the provision of MoD accommodation for journalists ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : I will write to the hon. Member.
MPs (Transport and Accommodation)
Dr. David Clark : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is his policy relating to (a) the provision of funding for the transport of hon. Members and (b) the provision of MoD accommodation for hon. Members ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : I will write to the hon. Member.
Scott Inquiry
Dr. David Clark : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 26 March, Official Report, column 759, what was the number of documents requested by the Scott inquiry and that he was unable to provide : if he will state their nature ; if he will divide his answer into those documents that he was unable to provide because (a) they had been destroyed, (b) they had been lost and (c) for other reasons ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Aitken : Lord Justice Scott's inquiry has requested a wide range of documents from my Department and no
Column 571
document requested is being witheld. As Lord Justice Scott made clear at his press conference on 31 March 1993, these requests are continuing and a great deal of work is being done to meet them. It would be inappropriate for me to comment in detail on the number and nature of these requests, which are matters between my Department and Lord Justice Scott's inquiry.Bosnia No-fly Zone
Dr. David Clark : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what consideration has been given to the deployment of Tornado aircraft to enforce the no-fly zone in Bosnia ; and if he will make a statement ;
(2) what recent consideration has been given to the deployment of British military forces to enforce the no-fly zone in Bosnia ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : Up to 12 Tornado F3 fighter aircraft and their air-to-air refuelling support have been offered to NATO as part of operations to implement Security Council resolution 816 to enforce the no- fly zone over Bosnia. The force for the initial deployment is made up of French, Dutch and American aircraft. British and other allies' aircraft are on standby to augment the force if requested to do so.
Falkland Islands
Dr. David Clark : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many (a) journalists and (b) hon. Members have visited the Falklands since 1982 ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : There is no MoD requirement for a permanent record of visits to the Falklands Islands by journalists and hon. Members. No detailed lists are therefore maintained.
Data Protection Act 1984
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many certificates have been signed under the terms of section 27 of the Data Protection Act 1984 for each year since 1987.
War Crimes
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what training is given to Her Majesty's forces about war crimes.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : The Army's common military syllabus, the basis of all initial training, contains a module on the law of armed conflict, part of which embodies the correct treatment of prisoners of war.
In addition, individual and collective training, prior to relevant operations, highlights instruction in the law of armed conflict, the Geneva convention and the rules of engagement specific to the operation in question.
Column 572
Redundancies
Mrs. Ray Michie : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many service personnel will now be made redundant under "Options for Change" ; how many of those being made redundant are from Scottish regiments or have been previously posted to Scotland ; and of those, how many are currently in single accommodation within the services and how many are in family accommodation.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : To date, a total of 12,440 service personnel have been selected for redundancy. In addition, in my answer to the hon. Member for Erewash (Mrs. Knight) on 1 April, Official Report, column 323, I said that a maximum in the order of 2,300 redundancies would take place in the Royal Navy between April and November 1994. Further redundancies in each of the services beyond these will depend on the manning situation.
A total of 486 personnel from Scottish regiments have been selected for redundancy in phases 1 and 2 of the Army's redundancy programme. Information about the number of personnel selected for redundancy who have served in Scotland and about the type of accommodation occupied by personnel made redundant is not available centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Army Houses
Mrs. Ray Michie : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the number of unoccupied houses owned by the armed services in Scotland which are (a) uninhabitable and (b) inhabitable.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : As at 31 December 1992, the latest date for which figures are available, 270 unoccupied service married quarters in Scotland were uninhabitable and 547 inhabitable. The uninhabitable properties were either undergoing or awaiting major works services while many of the inhabitable ones were either allocated to service families who were due to move in shortly or under consideration for disposal. In addition, 171 surplus married quarters were in the process of being sold.
Equal Opportunities
Mr. Janner : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many and what percentage of officers in each grade from 1 to 7 and overall in his Department are (a) women, (b) from ethnic minorities and (c) disabled people.
Mr. Aitken : The numbers of women, disabled and ethnic minority staff in grade levels 1 to 7 and overall are given in the table. These figures exclude our executive agencies, the Meteorological Office and the Defence Research Agency. I have asked the chief executives to write to the hon. and learned Member.
Column 571
|(1) |(1) |(2)
Grade |Registered disabled|Percentage of staff|Non-registered |Percentage of staff|Ethnic minority |Percentage of staff|Women |Percentage of staff
|in Grade |disabled |in Grade |in Grade |in grade
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |-
2 |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |-
3 |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |-
4 |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |-
5 |- |- |1 |2.40 |- |- |1 |2.40
6 |- |- |8 |3.80 |- |- |3 |1.40
7 |1 |0.10 |33 |3.80 |10 |1.2 |29 |3.30
|--- |--- |--- |--- |--- |--- |--- |---
Total Non-industrial staff (3) |69 |0.86 |253 |3.18 |133 |1.67 |2,824 |35.50
Notes:
(1) Figures based on responses to voluntary disability surveys.
(2) Figures based on responses to voluntary ethnic origin survey.
(3) Statistics on the 2,606 Industrial staff cannot be obtained without disproportionate cost and administrative effort.
Letter from John Chisholm to Mr. Greville Janner, dated 14 April 1993 :
In his written reply to your Parliamentary Question on the
Column 574
numbers of women, people from ethnic minorities and disabled people working in MOD, the Secretary of State for Defence informed you that I would be replying directly to you in respect of the Defence Research Agency. The information you request, a copy of which has been placed in the House of Commons Library, is as follows :Column 573
|(1) |(1) |(2)
Grade |Registered disabled|Percentage of staff|Non-registered |Percentage of staff|Ethnic minority |Percentage of staff|Women |Percentage of staff
|in Grade |disabled |in Grade |in Grade |in grade
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |-
2 |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |-
3 |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |-
4 |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |-
5 |- |- |1 |2.40 |- |- |1 |2.40
6 |- |- |8 |3.80 |- |- |3 |1.40
7 |1 |0.10 |33 |3.80 |10 |1.2 |29 |3.30
|--- |--- |--- |--- |--- |--- |--- |---
Total Non-industrial staff (3) |69 |0.86 |253 |3.18 |133 |1.67 |2,824 |35.50
Notes:
(1) Figures based on responses to voluntary disability surveys.
(2) Figures based on responses to voluntary ethnic origin survey.
(3) Statistics on the 2,606 Industrial staff cannot be obtained without disproportionate cost and administrative effort.
Letter from J. C. R. Hunt to Mr. Greville Janner, dated 5 April 1993 :
The figures below give the details for the Meteorological Office, as requested in your recent Parliamentary Question :
Grades 1 4 : 0 (out of 3)
Grade 5 : 1 disabled (12.5 per cent.)
Grade 6 : 2 women (6.5 per cent.)
Grade 7 : 2 disabled (1.3 per cent.), 1 from an ethnic minority (0.7 per cent.), 7 women (4.1 per cent.)
Overall : 10 disabled (0.9 per cent.), 23 from ethnic minorities (1.0 per cent.), 447 women (17.7 per cent.).
Note : Only those registered disabled are included in the disabled' figures.
HOUSE OF COMMONS
Correspondence
Dr. Godman : To ask the Lord President of the Council when the hon. Member for Greenock and Port Glasgow can expect to receive a reply to his letter dated 27 January anent certain matters relating to ministerial statements.
Mr. Newton : I replied to the hon. Member today.
FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS
Middle East
18. Mr. Boyce : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what further steps he is taking in support of the middle east peace process.
Column 574
Mr. Douglas Hogg : Our priority is an early resumption of the middle east peace process. The United Kingdom was represented on a European Community troika mission to the middle east from 30 March to 2 April. The troika urged all parties to accept the co-sponsors' invitation to the next round of negotiations in Washington on 20 April.
Russia
23. Mr. Winnick : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans he has to meet his Russian counterpart to discuss United Kingdom-Russian relations.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs has no plans at present for a further meeting with Mr. Kozyrev, but we keep in regular contact. They discussed British-Russian relations when they met in Moscow earlier this month.
Maastricht Treaty
24. Mr. Canavan : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many representations he has received to date about holding a referendum on the Maastricht treaty ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Garel-Jones : There have been several such calls. We do not believe that a referendum on the treaty is either necessary or appropriate.
Column 575
Singapore
25. Mr. Milligan : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the current status of Britain's relations with Singapore.
Mr. Goodlad : Our relations with Singapore are excellent, as I was able to confirm during my visit from 5 to 7 April.
While in Singapore, I had talks with the Prime Minister, Mr. Goh Chok Tong, the senior Minister, Mr. Lee Kuan Yew, and other Ministers on a range of issues. I also met leading figures in the economic and commercial sectors, and was able to reiterate the growing interest of British firms in doing business with Singapore, now the United Kingdom's 19th largest export market with two-way trade in 1992 totalling over £2 billion.
Relations are strong, too, in the fields of English language teaching and education, with some 3,000 Singaporean students attending tertiary courses in the United Kingdom. We continue to attach importance to defence co- operation, through the five power defence arrangements and the Royal Navy's use of two berths at Sembawang.
South Africa
26. Mr. Deva : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what progress is being made towards the holding of multiracial elections in South Africa.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : A multi-party planning conference was held on 5-6 March which agreed that multi-party talks will resume on 1 April. All major parties, except the Azanian People's organisation, are represented in the 26-member committee which is preparing for the talks. These talks are expected to lead to the establishment of a transitional executive structure later this year, followed by free non-racial elections.
32. Sir Michael Grylls : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the status of talks aimed at the establishment of an interim Government in South Africa.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : Constitutional negotiations involving all significant political groupings in South Africa are due to begin on 1 or 2 April. These talks are expected to lead to the establishment of a transitional executive structure in June, followed by elections to a constitution-making body and the establishment of an interim government of national unity.
Iran
27. Mr. Parry : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the links between Iran and international terrorism.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : We and our European partners made clear at the Edinburgh summit in December our concern at Iranian behaviour in a number of areas, particularly the fatwa against Salman Rushdie and terrorism.
Column 576
Bosnia
28. Mr. Win Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement about the situation in Bosnia.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : We and our EC partners have welcomed the Bosnian Muslim and Croat agreement to the international conference's peace plan for Bosnia. The Bosnian Serbs must now sign. Urgent work is in hand in New York to apply pressure on the Serbs to secure their agreement.
Mr. Elletson : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will detail the remit, which he and other EC Foreign Ministers gave at the Edinburgh summit, to the team charged with investigating allegations of rape in Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Mr. Garel-Jones : The remit of the EC investigative mission into allegations of abuse of women in Bosnia-Herzegovina is set out in the declaration issued by the EC Foreign Ministers at the conclusion of the Edinburgh summit. The declaration was issued as a UN Security Council document. A copy is in the Library.
European Community (Responsibility)
29. Sir Teddy Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will set out the principal areas of policy or administration for which the European Community has exclusive responsibility.
Mr. Garel-Jones : The European Community has exclusive competence where that is conferred upon it by treaty provision or measures taken under the treaty. It is not possible to draw up an exhaustive theoretical list. Current examples include the common agricultural policy, the common commercial policy and the external tariff.
Japan
30. Mr. Gallie : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on relations with Japan.
33. Mrs. Angela Knight : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement about United Kingdom relations with Japan.
Mr. Goodlad : My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs visited Japan from 6 to 7 April. Following his discussions with the Japanese Government as well as with a wide range of people from different walks of life, we remain strongly of the view that our relations with Japan are excellent. We hold similar views on the major world issues. We shall be working hard to make the relationship yet closer and more productive.
Angola
31. Mr. Hoon : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what initiatives he is planning through the United Nations to end the fighting in Angola.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : In accordance with the mandate conferred by United Nations Security Council resolution
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811 of 12 March, the United Nations Secretary General is now consulting the Government of Angola and UNITA to establish the date, place and agenda for direct UNITA/Government of Angola talks under United Nations auspices. We are actively supporting his efforts.Sudan
34. Mr. Fraser : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when his Department last made representations about human rights to the Government of Sudan.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : I last raised Sudan's human rights performance with the Sudanese ambassador on 22 February. My right honourable and noble Friend Baroness Chalker of Wallasey also raised the issue with him on 1 April. We were in the lead in securing a resolution adopted by the United Nations Commission on Human Rights on 10 March providing for a public investigation of the human rights situation in Sudan.
United Nations (Reform)
35. Ms Short : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what view Her Majesty's Government take of current proposals for reform of the structures and powers of the United Nations.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : We have long worked for and support steps to reform the workings of the United Nations which promote efficiency and streamline the organisation. We have backed the
Secretary-General's reforms of the secretariat. With our European Community partners, we have been at the forefront of moves to restructure and revitalise the Economic and Social Council and to promote good management and administration in the United Nations specialised agencies.
Yugoslavia
Dr. Godman : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he last met his ministerial colleagues from other member states of the Security Council of the United Nations to discuss the enforcement of UN resolutions 713, 757 and 787 relating to trade and arms embargoes against the former Yugoslavia ; and if he will make a statement.
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